MechTech

First off, DON'T GIVE UP! You do have a problem like TSP said. Moisture or expired hardener cause similar results. 1) If your hardener has been opened for a while, it could be expired. Later stages of hardener expiration are like expiring food. Color darkeners and solids begin to form in the bottom. Remember, it should be clear and only slightly tinted when new. 2) Excess humidity will cause the resin to bubble. If your resin cured fine outside of the mold in the same enviroment, it's your mold. You can let the mold sit in the oven on low for a while to chase out the moisture - if the mold is silicone. 3) You may simply have a bad batch, it does happen! Micromark (in my signature block) also sells molding supplies too. Out of all the stuff I've bought from them (A LOT), I have got one bad batch before, I just used it for filler and glue . They are responsive to customers too. Be tenacious and don't give up, the shiny white part you'll hold in your hand is worth it! - MT

Thanks guys for the compliments! Big F, get off your bum, it's been about three years man ! On the Yamato size issue, I'm seeing two different heights for Valks in batteloid mode - still researching it! Lord Valkyrie, welcome to MW. Here's what pictures I still have: Winch_Moving.MPG Basically I took an "I" beam and lined the indents of the "I" with copper tape. The part that hooks/slides on the I beam has contacts for a tiny planetary gear drive motor. I've found smaller ones since then (see my signature block under Gizmoszone). Don't hesitate to ask for help on your project. I've had to work through a lot of engineering issues. One of the next things I have to do are the side elevators - like on a carrier. - MT

What everyone else said and if they are yellowed, hang them out in direct sunlight to bleach them. I use Microscale to coat toner printed decals, just brush it on smoothly, it'll level out. It's great stuff and my bottle is as old as Macross too! And shame on another MW'er for not caring for their collection - MT

The details really add more realism Zombie - keep up the great work! On another note, I didn't take pictures, but I converted a Tinker Bell figure for my daughter (hey, it's a Bandai action figure!) My daughter has a nose for details like me. The figure had a puffy shiffon skirt in a addition to her regular skirt - not canon! She knows I do tiny models so she came to me and said "this doesn't belong, can you remove it!" So Tinker Bell WAS on my workbench . I'll have more Daedalus updates later. - MT

She's coming along great! The cockpit and all the other details are great looking. If I didn't know any better, I'd say it was a real design. - MT

Looks good to me! The rotors came out much better than the line art or or anime; they're more probable and 1980's-ish. - MT

Just try mixing a small amount and putting it in a cap - no enviromental changes from what you've been doing. That's the test. Lot's o bubbles and I bet it's the resin. Cool temperatures only delay or retard resin cure times. Your's sounds like the hardener is out of control. Some people store their resin in the fridge! Didn't work for me though. Shelf life varies, but should average at least a month on the fresh side after being opened. After that it still works, but has various affects. If you check out those nice sheets attached earlier on in this post, you'll note how things look compared to your product. You may have a bad batch, it happens! - MT

If it's not curing right, you're mixture is off or if you're using 1 to 1 stuff, it's defective. High humidity can effect it too. You should not need any mold release agent either. Most resins have their own. If you're still using Vaseline, you can stop. It's only needed for mold manufacture. The fact that the color helps says it's a possible mixture or quality control issue. Try mixing a small amount and sticking it in a bottle cap or something like it. See how it sets up. It should not bubble hard; in fact it should cure smooth on top with maybe a couple of TINY air bubbles. Just from what I can see it's not setting right, but that's just going by a photo. Hope that helps. - MT

I can help you a little, but I'm not sure to the extent of your question. I started out hating to build car kits for this reason (the plating). 1) Carefully sand the seams to remove the coating. 2) If you use superglue anywhere, clean all the surfaces thoroughly. Test the sprues first. Isopropyl alcohol may be safe, but usually strips the coloring off of chrome plating. Like simulated gold plating is just yellow over chrome plating (think Gundam kits). Chrome picks up superglue fingerprints superbly! 3) You can pretty well cover up seams with a like colored metalic marker. They're not a 100%, but neither is the idea of chrome plating an entire model! 4) And yes if you hate the plating, one guy soaked his in Coke. I know Coke is great for cleaning bumpers (phosphoric acid content in most runs of Coke is high). 4) Don't buy special coated models (I don't for all these reasons). - MT

Just when I thought I'd seen it all. I've actually had some good canned bread, but not with anime labels on it! I'm going to go put anime artwork on my canned beans so I can enjoy them more; or just sell them to MW members - MT

Looks as scary as the real thing ! - MT

First off, thanks Neptunesurvey for the update! I went back to order some Spartans originally listed, now they're gone - no trace or out of stock symbol !? Graham, thank you for the heads up too! I actually bought a set and was disappointed to find this out: The VF should be about 14.5 meters high, and the Destroid about 11.5 meters high. The Yamatos are roughly around 1/220 or more, too small. I was really bummed and thought I could save some work! Oh well, I've had to build everything else so far... UPDATE 30 OCTOBER 2008 I started work on the second fully functional crane on the ship. This one is a gantry crane. Shown are the drive parts for the long linear drive in the deck. Note in the last picture the motor changed. The gear case I scratch built worked great, but the pitch of the gears made it a little too loud so I swapped it out and made a new unit with spring loaded clutch. It looks ugly now, but will be covered up. The gantry crane is the yellow piece in the line art halfway down the page HERE Here's the gantry ends with bearings and clutch parts, really "high tech" friction clutch. Changed a little now. The part I'm REALLY happy with, a micro gearbox. This is a HIGHLY modified gear case (thinned, cut out) with new gears (two heavily modified) and a worm drive. It's not as quiet as hoped for, but it's TINY and works great! And the gantry crane frame. The whole crane has working X, Y and Z travels. You will actually be able to pick up a destroid (or the remains from a meat wagon) and move it around. The gantry and winch will be fed by a paper thin ribbon cable folding over like you see in scanners or printers. All of this is why three years later I'm not done yet! But I'm having fun. That's it for now. - MT

I squash mold all the time. The secret is not to press too hard. Just like picking up a pencil for the first time; there's going to be mistakes and a learning curve. If the part will be pretty thick in shape, it's best to go two part due to air bubbles. Squash molding is really only good for shallow stuff due to how easy air guts trapped in. Extra resin usually will flow the air out in a shallow mold. For the record, Vaseline brushed on really thin is my choice. - MT

Looks great! Hopefully the paint job matches the build quality! - MT

You gotta say that's mech-tactucular! I always did like that kit! - MT

Dinner plates, cereal bowl? Sounds like somebody's been skipping meals to sculpt I know what it is that looks off to me. The sideways bulge is alright (you're right about the head-on line art). The front canopy looks to be almost on the same sloping angle as the fuselage (looking sideways) . Right now it bulges up instead of blending into the slope. I believe the rear canopy is good to go. No criticism, just some feedback with another point of view. When I get into a project for a long time, I miss details looking at it for too long. That's when I go to my wife and ask "what's this look like to you." An easy way out on the canopies is to mold them over resin blanks that have handles on them and a cut line. Then all you have to do is mold them and let us finish them off. Looking awesome, MDF has never looked better (except on other sculpts you've done). - MT

That looks awesome John! I think the windows look a bit more flush in this picture: http://www.new-un-spacy.com/sdfmacross/comanchero.htm That's the only thing I see that looks slightly off. Is it going to have funny looking rotors like these: Keep up the great work! - MT

Nice work ZomBe! I think only about half of our members build canon. - MT

Mega props for doing this! You even did a 1/200 one too! What a guy! - MT

This photo DEFINITELY is a prototype (it's missing a leg and stuff). HLJ.com will probably sell it and I bet it averages $40 like most recent "fixed" macross models. Just like the Bandai VF-25 that most people said would suck before we even saw it, we need to give them a chance on this. Now people who whined about the VF-25 are whining because they can't get one right now - MT

History repeats itself. Bandai made quite a few valks for Macross 7 and that wasn't exactly everyone's favorite series. They did the 1/100 -19's and -17 in transforming kits. Then there were the 1/144 kits (doubles) too. Then there were all those aftermarket kits too (don't forget them). Destroids always sell well, so I would say "yes" unless the credit crisis and Bandai's marketing staff think "No." Parker - paint outside and bring your models inside right away! I had the opposite problem with humidity where I lived. Paint it outside, bring it in quickly and let it dry in a closet or little used room. You can put parts in a covered container to insulate and keep dust off while moving it back and forth. - MT

1) Great work on the fusealage so far. I'm working on my wanted list. Do you have an estimated completion date yet? I'm trying to figure out when to have payment ready. I'm guessing still $120 USD? Also are you cool with US Postal or international money orders? 2) Honnemiease and Valkyrie were BOTH working on ground vehicles last year and dropped the ball for various reasons. YOU WILL sell a lot of them and they're easy to sculpt! I've almost finished mine in 1/200. Of course I'm about to take a night class too. Feed the family or finish the Daedalus...OK I'm thinking... . Keep up the great work (and don't play with the model TOOooo much - MT

More good stuff coming! I need another job ! - MT

Yeah baby! You can never have enough ordnance (unless your aircraft can't get off the ground)! I'm still trying to figure out why they put four massive engines on this design. Maybe "Tim the Toolman Taylor" was his inspiration! - MT

Looks like being patient and waiting to order is paying off! Good stuff coming soon (not that I predicted that or anything ) - MT